Shadow of a Fox
by Obsidian Fireheart
Summary: Six year old Naruto Uzumaki knows that the beating will come on his birthday. Kyuubi helps him out of the village and Naruto vows his revenge. Kiba, after being utterly humiliated by Sasuke, partners with Shikamaru to best him. DarkNaruto HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

Shadow of a Fox

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters… If I did, then Sasuke would be dead and Itachi would have his eyes.

_A/N: So… This is my shot at a Naruto AU. I hope this turns out better than my little old pessimistic self is thinking it will be. A few beginning notes. This print means a demon is speaking (Except Akuma). Anything italicized is emphasized or is an author's note, I'm sure you can differentiate. Two quotes mean dialogue, one means thoughts. This chapter basically is going to get all of the training over and done with so we can get to action next chapter. Yay! Okay, now with the intros covered, on with the story!_

_Edit: Argh, stupid thing didn't put in section breakers so I had to do it by myself... What a drag._

Chapter 1 – The road to power: Crushed and getting back up

Flames danced inside the shadows of the wreckage. The light of the flames invading the shadows' territory and forcing it to back off. Bodies of humans, mutilated enough to cover their identity, were strewn across the ashen and bloodstained pavement. The light given off by the sun overhead seemed to be dyed crimson fitting the unfolded carnage. A boy, no older than six, stood fully erect, standing tall above the soulless bodies of the victims around him. A single tear had escaped his eye, and he silently asked himself in morbid fear.

'What have I done?'

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The alarm clock rang anew, blaring its designated sound effects like a siren. The plastic shell of the clock seemed to bow as a taut fist collided with its top, silencing the annoyance, and granting the one next to it his peace. The boy woke up with a start after remembering his dream, but he dismissed it as a nightmare.

Once realizing what day it was, he all but flew out of his bed; uncharacteristically for one who enjoyed sleep like him. The boy ran a worried eye over his calendar and his fear was confirmed. Nineteen X's were visible on the calendar, leaving the first uncrossed one to read the number 20. Today was October 20th, the day he feared most. His birthday, the day the mobs came to get him.

Naruto Uzumaki made sure he had food in his fridge, and then ran to the door at the end of the hallway in his small apartment. He sealed three boards of wood onto the door and placed a rather large mattress in front. He went to the only window in his apartment and placed boards over it aswell, causing all light in the tiny apartment to cease. Normally this would cause one to become insane, stuck in pure darkness all day, seeing as the lights didn't work, but for Naruto, this was his safe cover. He would much rather be stuck in here than be held outside to the mercy of several mobs.

Quite frankly, the blonde boy preferred the lesser of the two evils.

"**Everyone prefers the lesser of two evils, unless they are masochists."** A voice said.

"Who's there?!" Naruto shouted. He immediately became worried. First they attacked on the outside, now they're going inside of his head?

"**Relax kid. I don't mean any harm. I merely want to help you. Also, keep it down… all you have to do is think and I'll hear."** The voice had a ring of compassion to it, yet at the same time, sounded almost… _demonic_.

Several knocks were heard. Then Naruto spotted a black shape fly through the darkness. He was sure it was the mattress. Light flooded into the room and shadows became visible.

'Why do you want to help me?' Naruto asked.

"**We have the same goals. I'm sure you want revenge against Konoha for disgracing you, and I want to see Konoha in ashes for disgracing my family. We are in the same boat here!"** The voice seemed to be getting angry.

'How did they disgrace you?'

"**Long story… Besides, a mob is coming, and you might want to defend yourself… or let **_**me.**_**"** The voice said.

'Wait what?' Naruto lost control of his body as it began to move by itself. **"I'll show you." **The voice said.

All of a sudden, Naruto's body acted independently of his mind, brutally slaughtering anyone from the mob who came near him. Blood splashed down from the destroyed people as the limply fell to the floor. Several ninjas were part of the mob, and tried different things in killing the poor boy. Some tried fire, some tried knives, and one even tried explosive notes, which blew up a fair amount of the entire building.

Watching from the eyes of his possessed body, Naruto was appalled at the fighting skill of this voice in his head. Corpses were everywhere, mob members killed by both parties. It seemed that the whole apartment complex was leveled save for a few buildings, only half-leveled. Fires burnt everywhere and the sun seemed to glow crimson. An attack of déjà vu struck Naruto as he realized it was exactly like his dream.

'What have I done?' A single tear slid down his cheek.

"**We have no time to cry now. It's time to get out of the village and show what your true potential can unlock. I'll give control back to you, and all will be explained once we arrive at a safe spot." **The voice explained. Since the whole terrain around Naruto was destroyed, he figured he might as well start anew somewhere else. The boy took the voice's advice and fled, leaving the carnage around and his past behind him.

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It seemed like hours of running, after stopping at a river, he proceeded to wash his bloodstained face in the icy waters. He decided to not worry about his clothes, almost shredded in pieces but better than nothing at all. He stopped and sat slumped down against a tree, resting his tired and sore body.

"**It seems as if this is as far as you can go," **the voice commented. **"Very well. I will explain. My name is Kyuubi. My full title is the Kyuubi no Kitsune, lord of demons and king of the Bijuu. You don't have to refer to me with my full title, notwithstanding the fact that most of my servants greet me with that, you may merely refer to me as Kyuubi."**

'What are we going to do now that I'm all the way out here?' Naruto asked the newly revealed Kyuubi.

Kyuubi chuckled. **"I'm surprised that you are not afraid of me. After all, I was sealed into you by the Fourth… I am why they hate you."**

'What, you?!' Naruto mentally yelled

"**I assure you, I never meant for it to happen this way. You see, I merely wanted revenge on Konoha for disgracing my family and I figured destroying the village would work. Sadly, that bastard Fourth Hokage summoned the Shinigami and completely turned the tables, and the Death God sealed me into the newly born you. I'm sorry for the hate you've received. Now, I wish to train you so we can deal out our revenge together."**

'Train? Where?' Naruto thought looking around. They _were_ in the middle of nowhere, if the demon in his head hadn't noticed.

"**Here of course! What better place to toughen your body up than the wilderness? We will live off nature for the next three years, constantly improving your stamina and your body in general."**

'I'm having a feeling that this will be very hard.' Naruto sighed.

"**There are no shortcuts to greatness. How do you think I became King of Demons? Millennia of training, that's what! If we train you the hard way, opponents will become a cakewalk to defeat! Imagine becoming a demon of my caliber, maybe even higher! That's what I'm talking about."**

Naruto imagined the power to crush any human in his way with an iron fist, and suddenly Kyuubi's proposal seemed a lot more enticing. A demonic impulse seemed to fill him, and he grinned sadistically.

'Of course, Kyuubi-sama'

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"What do you mean the whole thing was burned down!?" The Sandaime Hokage, Sasuke Sarutobi, slammed his fists onto his oak-made desk. Normally the wrinkled old Monkey summoner wouldn't be this jumpy, but never in his career had a fight of this caliber had taken place in an apartment complex. Even so, the Kyuubi vessel lived there aswell, meaning he would have been involved in the fight, and the council would finally have a reason to execute the poor Uzumaki. Well, the good thing was, as the Hokage's aide had told him, Naruto had gone missing. No trace of his body was found except for a lot of blood.

"Naruto has disappeared Hokage-sama." The aide said. This calmed the man's nerves. The aide spoke up again, "It seems that the Kyuubi had assisted in the fighting because I should think that Naruto wouldn't be able to put down that many ninja. I merely hope that the Fourth wasn't wrong in saying his seal was foolproof."

"Neither do I, he was like a son to me, Minato was." Sarutobi glanced at the picture of the smiling man in spite of himself. "I just hope that if the Kyuubi caused this, that demon's intentions were pure."

"As do I, Hokage-sama."

"Takashi. I have something to tell you. But first, swear to me you will not repeat it."

Takashi nodded, "Okay, I swear."

"Well then, Upon Minato's death, he said a few words to me. He said that if you looked at the fox's eyes, you could tell that the demon attacked Konoha for a reason other than mere sport." The old man sighed, "I just hope he was right. But then again, Kyuubi was known for being one of the most violent demons."

Takashi nodded, "Please don't think that way, Hokage-sama. Optimism is always better."

"Takashi." The Hokage's face became serious.

"Yes?" The aide paid utmost attention.

"The rest of Konoha does not need to know that Naruto is alive. In Konoha's eyes, he is now dead. No one but us will know otherwise. Do not even put any sign of his being alive in any records. I want him to be marked as dead… for his own protection."

"Yes Hokage-sama." The aide quickly ran off.

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Upon hearing of the demon's death, the council of Konohagakure no Sato was ecstatic. After the Hokage himself had told them that Naruto had died in a mob attack. Seen after, news had spread like wildfire across the village. It seemed like after an hour, everyone knew.

The Hokage smiled within the safe confines of his office. Everything was going as planned.

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"**First, let me explain something. I have changed the way your body will grow, so as to remain hidden. People will recognize us if we go around as we are, and knowing Sarutobi, he probably has us marked as dead, so we better keep people none the wiser."**

Naruto nodded. He had felt something weird go about with his hair.

"**You will be known as Chiniiro Akuma. I have altered your hair so that it will look like that of an old adversary of mine, Uchiha Madara. That was the only hairstyle I could think of, sorry. Your hair will slowly change to black with maroon highlights. You will also be a bit taller, because short people aren't intimidating and I want to be in an intimidating vessel. We'll see how life unfolds as it unfolds, no? Well, let's begin training."**

'Hai, Kyuubi-sama.' Naruto did a mental bow.

"**You don't have to be so formal…" **Kyuubi tried to protest.

'You saved my life and you're training me! I need to at least be as respectful as I can to you!'

"**Okay, kit. Whatever."**

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Three years later (Please pardon the timeskip… I seriously couldn't continue any other way.)

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Uchiha Sasuke was the epitome of an Uchiha. Proud, Arrogant, Owner of a massive superiority complex, you name it. He was at the top of his class in every respect, and was had more power than anyone in the class, almost matching the teacher himself. Unfortunately, that earned him a lot of the bane of his existence: fangirls.

Many of the boys in his class debated as to whether or not he was gay, as most of them would sell their souls to the Shinigami just to have a minute with that many girls. Sasuke was obviously the heartthrob of town, and everyone knew it.

Kiba Inuzuka was one boy who was jealous of the girls Sasuke took for granted. He was as perverted as a certain cycloptic jounin even if he was nine. Today he decided to show Sasuke that he meant business. At the end of class that day, he challenged the Uchiha to a fight. Now, it was common knowledge that Kiba was at the bottom of the class. He simply wanted attention and girls, and desired them even more so than strength, the classic ninja goal.

Upon challenging the Uchiha, he was escorted to a training ground outside of the academy. Kiba had finally performed Tsuuga correctly, for the first time in his life. It was saddening to see his former ecstasy upon mastering the move crushed by the Uchiha who completely smothered him in fire. Even worse, Kiba couldn't move and Sasuke decided to rub it in his face, literally. He stood on the ground-borne Inuzuka and grinded it against his face with the strength that Kiba began to thoroughly despise.

"This is the difference between an Uchiha and you' you pathetic commoner." Sasuke topped it off by spitting in his face. What was worse was that no one cared for Kiba. They were all star-struck by Sasuke's performance. The only one who appeared by his side was a lethargic looking boy named Shikamaru.

That is how the two became friends and allies in their new goal, surpassing Sasuke and giving him what he gave Kiba earlier. Ambitions were made, and the two new friends knew they could reach them.

"We'll beat Sasuke together, Kiba." Shikamaru reassured.

"Yeah." Kiba said.

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'So, Kyuubi-sama, what will we do now? Three years has come and gone." Naruto, now known as Akuma observed. He now was nine years old, but tall for his age. He stood at five foot three and had jet black hair with crimson highlights travelling down his back. His bangs were split in the middle and had grown rather long, reaching just below the collar on his cloak. His hair was almost the spitting image of the Madara forever captured in the statue at the valley of the end. His eyes were blue as the ocean, and seemed intricate and complicated, yet at the same time so simple. Yet they portrayed the look of sadness and past darkness. He wore clothes to go with his hair color. A dark red traveler's cloak adorned his body, but in the opening a tight black shirt was visible, illustrating the lean body of the boy. He wore black

"**Kit. We will start to work on your demonic abilities. We will work on them for the rest of your life. You've already noticed yeah? In order to change your looks so as to be inconspicuous I had to make you into a half-demon, or hanyou."** Kyuubi explained.

'I thought so.' Akuma decided, 'That's why I've been feeling weaker when there's a new moon, right?'

"**Correct."** Kyuubi confirmed, **"Anyways, now we will head to a place that I know very well. It is called the Demon's Realm. We will meet up with some old friends of mine and train you. You'll probably become a full demon when you become fourteen at this rate."**

'Just out of curiosity, how strong will I be when I finish?'

"**I'd say you definitely could best four tails worth of power. In order for you to get this strong we will be doing a unique and forbidden training method, which will be detailed later."**

'Okay, Kyuubi-sama.' Akuma smiled, 'When I will hold a candle to the Hokage's power at last.'

"**Indeed kit. You will hold much more than a candle."**

'And I will sap my revenge.'

"**Yes kit. Revenge. Revenge on those who tormented you, those who doubted you, those who thought you were me. Oh this revenge will be sweet."**

"Yes it will, Kyuubi-sama." Akuma grinned sadistically. He was liking this.

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The next day at the Academy for Ninjas, Iruka Umino noticed something strange. Kiba, the one who usually goofed off and yelled, was silent and studying. He noticed that Shikamaru also wasn't sleeping. Something strange had happened to motivate those two, as they were at the bottom of the barrel when it came to class scores and only something _big_ could motivate them like this.

He decided to enjoy it while it lasted and taught as if nothing had changed. He pretended the two were still as inattentive as normal and the day went by rather fast.

He would enjoy Kiba not talking out.

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"**So kit, this is the gateway to the Demon's Realm."** Kyuubi pointed out a rock in the middle of a field. He could already hear what Akuma would say.

'This… is a rock, Kyuubi-sama' Akuma pointed out very obviously.

"**Yes. I know, kit. But, if you put your finger in that hole then the gateway will show up."** The fox demon explained as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

'What are you implying?' Akuma said sarcastically. He inserted his finger into the indent in the craggy surface of the stone and expected it to be bitten off or something similar. Instead, a doorway appeared in front of him which seemed to glow purple. Akuma removed his finger and entered the door, unknowing what to expect.

Inside of the doorway, the world seemed malnourished and overall, dead. The sky was eternally stuck purple and an orange moon shone above the dead treetops. Ravens flew here and there, squawking loudly as they hovered overhead.

"**Home sweet home."** Kyuubi said to no one in particular.

'Seems like a… comfortable place, Kyuubi-sama.' Akuma commented.

"**I know, right!"**

'Sure.' That was one of Kyuubi's more… quirky sides. He could become very strange at certain times. Akuma walked quietly down the dirt path and glanced back and forth between the dead vegetation adorning the sides of the paths. It seemed that dead plants were popular in the Demon's Realm. How odd, Akuma thought briefly, and then continued following Kyuubi's instructions on how to reach his home.

"**Look at the map there and find Hi no Kuni. Travel to where Konoha would be."** Kyuubi instructed. Akuma did what he was told and located where Konoha would be. It was marked as Nine-Tailed lair. Akuma figured that this would be correct. He noticed that the demonic gate sent him rather close to the place. It would only be a few days' walk if the Demon's Realm was really parallel to the Human's Realm.

Akuma began to walk in designated direction, completely oblivious to what was about to happen in the Human's Realm.

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"Kukuku. Kabuto-kun, is he ready?" A pale skinned man asked his trusted servant, Kabuto-kun

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama. The preparations are complete. He will be ready for you to transfer your body into."

"Good. If we had waited another three years, he might have been attacked with the disease famous for running through his clan. No matter, it will be done now. Kabuto-kun, ready the body."

"Yes Orochimaru-sama."

"Kukuku… those Konoha weaklings won't know what hit them."

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A few days later…

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"**Well, kit; welcome to my humble abode."** The Kyuubi no Kitsune said.

After a few uneventful days of walking they made it to a large cavern. But a cavern was all it was. It was huge and could fit a lot of stuff, but the Kyuubi probably merely used it for sleeping in. Akuma had only one thing to say.

'Seems rather… empty.'

"**Because it is! Demons have different interests you know…"** the large demon sighed, **"Well, I suppose you should make yourself at home first before we train."**

Akuma looked around and said, 'This isn't a very human friendly place. Is it possible that you can change it, Kyuubi-sama?'

"**Of course I can! What do you take me for?" **Kyuubi said as a door appeared to Akuma's right. **"There's your room, kit."**

'Arigato, Kyuubi-sama.' Akuma mentally bowed to the Kyuubi before hurrying to his room. Inside was a richly furnished suite containing a closet filled with different types of clothing, from kimonos to the standard shirt and pants. The floor was made with bamboo and the bed was exceedingly comfy. A fridge existed with all sorts of culinary delights inside. Not only that, a shower worth millions was lodged into the bathroom… A shower, finally!

How long had it been since he had showered? He had been forced to survive with what nature gave him for the past three years and nature certainly gave him no showers. Akuma eagerly headed straight for the shower, and stripped, then enjoyed the nice hot blasts of water.

Later, when he came out, he dressed in the clothes he assumed were for sleeping and sat on the bed. He liked it in this comfortable place in the demon world, but what would he be doing? The Kyuubi took this time to be unresponsive, only keeping the training routine secret. Akuma slipped under the covers of the bed and fell asleep.

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The next day found Shikamaru and Kiba training, yes, training. Kiba was doing push-ups with Akamaru on his back while Shikamaru was doing kicks. Now, they had been doing training for the past week or so in their effort to catch up with Sasuke. They had asked the Hokage what the best methods of training were, but the old man had kept a tight lip. They figured they could ask their parents, but Shikamaru would find it troublesome if his parents died of heart attacks due to the shock of him actually doing something.

Kiba, on the other hand, disagreed with Shikamaru and wanted to ask as soon as possible. He was doing the best Inuzuka training they had as it was, but Kiba needed chakra control and more chakra in general.

Shikamaru figured that his parents would loophole him to shadow training, as they always did. They merely wanted him to become the best shadow user in their family. After all, since the Hokage upped the Graduation age to fourteen after the Uchiha Massacre, they had five years before they became ninja, right?

Shikamaru wanted to do something other than shadows, because he found it so troublesome that everyone in his family controlled the same thing. He wanted to control clouds, but he knew that wouldn't do any good in battle, so he had been thinking of something else.

Kiba was fine with the Inuzuka training; he just wanted to go above and beyond what any Inuzuka had done. He wanted to become a master of Fire jutsu. That element was his favorite simply for its meaning of aggressiveness. He also knew that fire was the easiest elements to harness, but could be deadly if used correctly.

"Hey Shikamaru!" Kiba called after finishing his push-ups, "We should see if there's any better training to do here." The dog boy walked out of the training ground.

"Fine." Shikamaru stopped kicking and followed Kiba out of the training ground. The two looked back and forth around Konoha for anything of use. Shikamaru had an idea. The Konoha library for Ninjas would work. Academy students in their third year could enter, right?

The two friends entered the library with no trouble and searched around the scrolls. Kiba had split off and headed to the ones with fire jutsu, while Shikamaru just searched stuff that would fir his interests. He passed all of the aisles, glancing at some of the scrolls in each before settling on looking at the older scrolls. The cloud watcher walked down the aisle and found a scroll that caught his interest. He was at the far back of the library, when he felt a presence. The deer herder turned around to see what was calling to him. It seemed to be the scroll without a title that rested in the shelf directly in front of him. He pulled the scroll out and brought it to a table before opening it. After that, he unrolled it, and he could have sworn he saw it glow for a split second, before reading it. Inside of the scroll was how to manipulate wind. What?

The lethargic boy was actually excited for studying this. If he mastered this, he would control wind without any seals at all. He hadn't heard about this at all in any of his academy lessons, so he figured this would advance him towards Sasuke. He wondered for a brief moment if Kiba had found anything in his search, then continued looking the instructions over in his scroll.

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Kiba was looking through the scrolls of fire type jutsu. As he headed farther down the aisle, the older the scrolls got. The dog boy found a scroll he liked and went to find Shikamaru. Kiba's scroll read, "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower". After skimming its contents, Kiba thought this jutsu would be a good one to start with.

He walked back up the aisle and found Shikamaru at a table studying. For once in life, the boy seemed deep in thought. Kiba took a seat across from him. The dog boy said "Hi!" to Shikamaru causing the lethargic boy to flinch.

"Look what I have," Kiba said. "I think this will be one of the best Fire jutsus."

Shikamaru looked up, "What rank is it?"

Kiba looked at the scroll, "C. What's yours?"

"Mine doesn't have a rank." Shikamaru smiled, "It's a really old scroll."

The dog boy cocked his head, "So what's the jutsu."

"Well, the scroll calls it, 'Wind Style: All Gales Elemental Shift', supposedly you control wind without seals with this one. It's kind of troublesome that it requires really advanced chakra control."

"Cool." Kiba said, looking back to his scroll. "Think we should go back to the training ground for this."

"Sure." Kiba began to walk off. "Wait! Kiba! We need to check these out!" Shikamaru ran after the dog boy.

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The next morning in the Demon's Realm, Akuma woke up to the Kyuubi telling him to go train, as usual. Akuma washed his face and ate breakfast, then headed to the main part of the cavern for training. Akuma was impatient, 'Kyuubi-sama, what are we going to do for training?'

"**Hmhmhm… Impatient, are we? Well, in this cavern, there are seals I placed a very long time ago. They are time seals. I can use them to slow down time or speed it up as long as I am in this cavern. We are going to slow down time and train for a hundred years but in reality, only five. Heh, don't worry, you won't be a hundred and nine years old after this, you will still be fourteen. Heh, we will go over various things, including your demonic affinity and your human affinity. We will also increase your chakra capacity at least a hundred fold so you can actually begin to use demonic jutsus." **The Kyuubi took in a huge breath, **"And we will train with time slowed down so much that each session will last one twentieth of a year, about eighteen days."**

'Oh, I get it.'

"**Indeed. Now, I want you to give me one hundred push-ups, a hundred sit-ups, and with that bar over there," **A bar literally just appeared out of nowhere, **"I want one hundred pull-ups and one hundred handstand push-ups. Now go."**

'Hai, Kyuubi-sama.' Akuma began the Kyuubi's training routine. He knew that this would be hard, but in order to get his revenge, he pushed on.

"**Oh, and kit."**

'Yes, Kyuubi-sama?'

"**At the final twenty years of training… I have a present."**

'What is it?'

"**They are called the Kiretsume. They are a demonic weapon built for speed. I can't tell you exactly what it is now, or else it'll ruin the surprise, but all I can say is that no one has mastered it in over two hundred millennia."**

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Another year later…

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Back in the Human's Realm, Shikamaru almost got sliced to bits by his jutsu. He had been practicing chakra control for months, yet he still didn't the wind jutsu right. Kiba had already mastered Phoenix Flower, Grand Fireball, and was on to Fire Dragon already. Both of the two ambitious boys had made incredible progress, but Shikamaru still didn't master his jutsu from the library. It said he needed superb chakra control, and Shikamaru was sure he had it. He could walk on water! That was one of the highest forms of control, yet the Wind Style: All Gales Elemental Shift Jutsu was still out of his reach.

The boy decided to just continue practicing chakra control, but he wondered what he could even do to increase it further. He had mastered the leaf lifting exercise, the tree climbing exercise, and the water walking exercise. What was next? Air walking?

That gave Shikamaru an idea. He could attempt to be the first to walk on air! Shikamaru decided to come up with a theory for walking on air. Maybe he could make blacks of chakra that he would walk on. Nah, that would take too much, and it would be slippery since chakra has no friction. Maybe he could use chakra to pack all of the air molecules together.

That would help with wind manipulation too! Shikamaru excitedly attempted to force air into a black below his raised foot. Sadly, it didn't go as planned, and the block dispersed before he could place his foot on it. He sighed, "How troublesome." He said out loud as he attempted to gather another block.

In the Demon's Realm, Akuma was running around the now very familiar Nine-Tailed Lair. He was supposed to run all up and down its craggy sides and through dark tunnels and even wall-run over a pit filled with spikes. After that he had to jump on thin rocks and then had to do another fifteen laps, all in the dark! Akuma had figured out a long time ago that Kyuubi's methods were harsh but this was a whole new level of hell. Half the time Akuma got stuck in one of the many pits filled with spikes. Ouch would be a horrible understatement. When Akuma slept, Kyuubi would teach him the histories of the world and even learn its languages. The fox demon would teach Akuma how to play its many strategy games and have Akuma come up with strategies for war in make believe situations. It was really interesting in the mindscape.

It had been a year since Akuma started the training, but twenty if you counted the time slowdown. Akuma's personality stayed the same even though he was training in a time rift for twenty years. He knew that he had eighty years to go, so he kept himself motivated.

Akuma was practicing his demonic chakra control. He sat on top of a really sharp rock Indian style making shapes out of pure demonic chakra. The goal was to make as many unique shapes as possible and to stay balanced on the spike and to keep it from stabbing your rear end. Akuma was rather good at this training, since starting it a year ago in slowdown time.

He got off the rock after making two hundred fifty shapes and asked Kyuubi to put the next phase down. He took off his shoes as hot coals appeared on the cavern floor. Akuma walked across and walked back, and then the coals became spiky.

This was the part Akuma couldn't do. He tried to walk across and yelped in pain when his feet were impaled and burned. The wounds healed immediately, but it still hurt like a bitch.

After completing the hot coals and falling eight times, Akuma had to avoid getting squished by a two ton boulder. He was to lift it up and throw it as far as he could, which when it came to two ton boulders, was kind of hard.

At the end of the session, Akuma finally got another eighteen days of rest. Since he was in the slowdown time, he had eighteen day sessions and eighteen day rests. It worked pretty well overall. Akuma knew that his strength was greatly increasing, and he couldn't wait until he could put the Hokage himself down.

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And finally, another four years ahead. Today is the Genin Exams…

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Umino Iruka was proud of two students in his class. They studied extremely hard over the past five years and he was certain they would pass. Sasuke worried him. Iruka knew he would pass; it was just that his mental condition set Iruka on edge.

Kiba was excited for the exam. The boy had mastered at least thirty fire type jutsu and had even made some of his own. Many of the jutsu Kiba designed himself worked well with Akamaru aswell. Shikamaru had finally gotten the All Gales Elemental Shift down as well as several other jutsu. He could air walk for a short time before his blocks dispersed, but that was all he really needed.

Both were pumped and ready. Iruka called a boy named Aburame Shino first to do the transformation jutsu. Shino passed with flying colors. After a while, Kiba was next and he went down. Kiba definitely had the most muscle of the entire class, and had even earned himself a mini fan club after flexing his bicep, but he was disappointed that most of the female population remained loyal to Sasuke. His grey furred hoodie kept him warm a lot of the time, but he only wore the hood up when needed. He wore long brown pants that had several pockets designed for keeping scrolls and weapons in. Kiba transformed into a perfect copy of Iruka, then Iruka let him transform into someone else. Kiba transformed into Shikamaru. Iruka gave Kiba his headband and the excited boy headed back to his seat.

Shikamaru was called and he transformed into Iruka, then transformed into Kiba, took his headband, and headed back to his desk. The pineapple-haired boy never really changed his attire. A simple open shirt with fishnet under and tan shorts. Still as thin as a rake. He merely sighed, "Troublesome." As he sat at his desk.

Iruka knew that these two were friends, and them transforming into each other proves it.

"Okay, for those who graduated, you have three weeks off until you come back here and meet your senseis and teams." Iruka announced. "Okay, shoo!"

'Hm. Those pathetic weaklings think they can beat me. Ha! I'll show them why their weak.' That was Sasuke's thought as he left the academy building, brand new headband tied around his head. Three weeks until they would be assigned teams. He couldn't wait to see who would be training him. He couldn't care less about his team.

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Three weeks later…

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Kiba and Shikamaru were sitting next to each other, waiting for their teams to be announced Iruka was far in the list already, and he was currently saying team seven's list. "Now, we're short one student, so Team Seven will only have two people on it. Those people are Haruno Sakura,"

Sakura hoped her other teammate was Sasuke.

"And Yamanaka Ino."

"WHAT?!" Sakura screeched, "I don't want to be with her!"

"WHY DO I HAVE TO BE WITH THAT SLUT?!" Ino yelled.

"I didn't decide these, the Hokage did. Please remain calm girls!" Iruka unconsciously took a step back.

"Humph." Both girls looked away from each other.

"Girls, your sensei is Yuuhi Kurenai." Iruka informed, "Anyways, Team Eight had Inuzuka Kiba, Nara Shikamaru,"

Both boys cheered.

"And Uchiha Sasuke."

Both boys banged their heads on the desk.

"Boys, your sensei is Mitarashi Anko." Iruka cleared his throat, "Team Ten consists of Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, and Akimichi Chouji, your sensei is Hatake Kakashi."

All of them looked completely indifferent.

"Okay, so that is all, have a nice day! Your senseis will be-" A big black ball flew through the window and exploded. A huge banner came out saying, "Mitarashi Anko! Jounin Sensei for Team Eight!"

"Here shortly," Iruka finished. "Early again Anko?! Why?!"

The purple haired woman put her hand behind her head, "Whoops!"

"Score!" Kiba shouted, "Our sensei is so hot!"

"I know, right?" Anko joyfully said, "Meet me on the roof!" She poofed away.

Shikamaru, Kiba, and Sasuke exited the classroom and made their way up onto the roof. Anko was already there waiting for them. She was still smiling brightly.

"Hi!" She waved like a little girl. She spoke again as they sat down, "So, should we get to know each other?"

"Sure," was Sasuke's reply.

"Okay! I'll go first," Anko started, "My name it Mitarashi Anko. I like dango, fun things, and booze. I _hate_ a certain snake man," The temperature seemed to drop massively, "My hobbies are eating dango, training, and doing fun things. I don't really have dreams for the future though. Okay, Duck Butt, your turn."

Sasuke seethed at the name, but gave no indication, "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like nothing, dislike everything, and train as a hobby. I don't have a dream for the future, but I have an ambition. I will kill a certain man!"

Anko applauded, "I like the drama, okay, you Kibble Head."

Kiba's eye twitched at the name, "My name is Inuzuka Kiba! I like my friends, Akamaru, and girls. I hate Sasuke-teme! My hobbies include training and learning more jutsus. My dreams for the future… Or I should say fate, because it will happen, is to get revenge on Sasuke-teme for that day!"

Sasuke chuckled, "You'll never be able to do that to me."

"What?! Oh I will, you just wait and see!"

Anko smiled, "I'm glad you two hate each other, but we still need Pineapple Boy to talk, then you can kill each other."

"My name is Nara Shikamaru. I like my friends, clouds, and sleeping. I hate troublesome women and waking up. My hobbies are training, reading, watching clouds, and sleeping. My dream for the future is to grow up, have a normal family, and retire early."

Anko seemed to be in thought, 'So we have an emo drama queen, a stinky dog boy, and a lazy bum. I think that this will go on very well.'

Anko spoke, "Okay guys, we have a survival exam. Now I want you to get all of your ninja gear, get a good night's rest, and don't eat any breakfast; unless you want to throw up that is. Bye!"

Anko jumped away, munching on a piece of dango on her way home.

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"**Hmhmhm… Your training is complete, kit. I knew I would be right in training you like this to master it. Hahaha. You have mastered the Kiretsume."**

Red light glittered in the cavern. It shone off of ten blades, shining a dangerous red in the crimson glow. Flames crackled as the body of another demon lay before him, in tine pieces and absolutely lifeless.

"I am a full demon now, and I have mastered the forbidden art of the Kiretsume." He spat on the corpse, "You'll see as my power rises. People, human and demon alike will cower under the name Chiniiro Akuma: the Demon of the Bloody Claws."

"**Atta kit."**

_**Kiretsume: Slicer Claws**_

_So, any guesses as to what the Kiretsume are? All training is done and Team Eight is going to do a survival exam proctored by the crazy woman, Anko. What is the Kyuubi's goal with raising Akuma, and what will Akuma do now that his training is complete?_

_Find out in the next chapter. Ja ne!_

_-Flat Rock "Woopsire"_


	2. Chapter 2

Shadow of a Fox

_A/N Well, thank to kyuubi16 for his/her input. Helped me decide on a pairing. C'mon guys, 55 hits after the first hour? You love me way too much. Also, on the front page it says it will read the four dashed making a line. IT TOOK THEM AWAY! What is this madness?! I'll have new section dividers I guess._

Chapter 2 – Get the book! Missions ahead!

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The sun shone brightly between the blinds of the window. In the rather undecorated room loud snoring was audible. Suddenly, the sleeping boy woke up as the alarm clock blared. It seemed that all alarm clocks get abused as the clock was smashed to pieces by the boy's fist.

Nara Shikamaru was about to fall asleep when he realized what time it was… Time to take the exam with the crazy lady. He mentally cursed at the early time set for the exam taking place.

Troublesome woman…

The pineapple-haired boy rubbed his eyes and reluctantly exited his bed. He knew that waking up this early would kill him, at least in his world, and once again mentally cursed Anko for setting such an early time. It was still dark outside, for Kami's sake!

"Unghh." He groggily walked down the stairs and headed to the training field to meet Anko, completely heeding the woman's warning and skipping breakfast. He knew deep down inside that listening to her warnings would be a bad idea, but at the same time, knew that something bad would happen to the precious things down there if he didn't.

He walked like a zombie to the training ground, having said 'troublesome' in his mind who knows how often. He was still half asleep, and desperately craved his bed, but sadly, he knew like liked tormenting him.

At the training ground, Shikamaru discovered that he was the last one to arrive. Sasuke had apparently somehow gotten enough sleep, but then again, it was impossible to know as Sasuke always acted like Sasuke, in all weather conditions, and at all times.

Kiba seemed hungry. The look on his face was priceless. He was almost asleep and his stomach seemed to be pretending to be a dragon the way it was roaring. Apparently Shikamaru wasn't the only one who suffered from such problems.

Shikamaru looked around and saw that Anko wasn't here. Either the lazy bum was early or the insane woman was just late. Shikamaru wondered briefly how long he could nap until Anko arrived.

It was then Kiba actually was awake enough to spot Shikamaru, as the dog boy beckoned him over. Shikamaru decided to avoid troublesome things and just walk over to the fallen tree that Kiba used as a seat. He took a seat and began to stare at the clouds. This was one of the things he liked about the morning. It was just past five o'clock so the sun was still rising, meaning the clouds were dyed red and slowly changed gray the farther from the sun they were.

It looked like something out of a painting.

It was then that the explosion occurred, rocking everyone but Sasuke. More explosions of assorted colors appeared, creating an overall brilliant display. A firework took off and hurtled into the sky, exploding and creating the words, "Ta-Da! Mitarashi Anko is here!"

Sasuke scowled at the immature display, Kiba laughed, and Shikamaru merely said, "Troublesome woman."

When the smoke cleared, Anko, in all of her Ankoish glory, appeared. She had her usual bright smile on her face and held up a peace sign and a kunai in her free hand. If Sasuke thought she looked like a slut back at the Academy and on the roof, then he would have no idea what to say now. She wore a tan trench coat and an orange miniskirt, the rest covered by fishnet. Kiba had a slight nosebleed, but immediately wiped the blood off before Anko saw. Too bad she actually did see that.

"Oh, do I excite Kiba-kun?" She teased. Kiba's eye twitched and he fell off of his log, right leg in the air and comically twitching. She giggled before turning serious. "Okay guys, what I'm going to give you is not only the hardest survival exam to date, but the hardest mission to date!"

Shikamaru was sweating.

"I want you to steal Kakashi-ero's book!"

Shikamaru sweatdropped.

Anko clarified as Kiba got back up. "Let me warn you, he will protect it with his life! He will put the book over himself to ensure its safety, and Kakashi is no pushover. Also, since this is a survival exam, let's make it a little contest. Whoever gets his book and returns it to me by noon gets to be my apprentice, while the other douches get to go back to the academy."

Kiba and Shikamaru glanced at each other worriedly. They didn't want to be split up after coming so far.

"We can't be split up!" Kiba yelled.

Anko smirked. "Oh? Then I'm sorry. A jounin sensei can do whatever they want with their team."

Kiba was in disbelief. "What?!"

"You bet!"

This time Shikamaru spoke, "Damn troublesome woman."

Anko smiled brightly, "I try." Then she became serious. "Okay, seriously, you guys start now so go away and get the book."

"Hai, hai." Shikamaru walked off rather aimlessly. He needed to find out where Kakashi would be at this time. Since it was just past five in the morning, and no one would be stupid enough to wake up as early as Anko, he would probably be in bed.

Where is that guy's house?

Kiba ran up to Shikamaru. He placed his hand on the lazy boy's shoulder and said, "Hey, Shika, Anko-sensei said that Kakashi is no pushover, so we at least should do this together."

Shikamaru glanced at Kiba, "Yeah, but who would get the book?"

The dog boy grinned, "You of course!"

The pineapple raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure?"

Kiba smiled, "Sure I'm sure! Let's just get the book."

"Yeah," Shikamaru glanced around, "Where do we find him? I know that he probably won't get up as early as Anko-sensei, so he should be sleeping, but where is his house?"

Kiba looked thoughtful for a moment, "Maybe Hokage-sama would know."

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Sasuke had walked off in the opposite direction of Kiba and Shikamaru. He was walking down a river hoping to find some clues as to where this Kakashi would be. The whole place looked beautifully serene, and no one but Sasuke himself was in the area. The Uchiha boy sighed and turned around, heading toward Konoha proper. Maybe he could find a description of Kakashi there.

Sasuke walked back up the river and onto the path. He glanced at the park benches there and sighed, knowing that none of them would get the book, but didn't give up.

He entered into a crowded area. Lots of people, ninja and civilian alike, were crowded around its many stalls. He looked around then glimpsed a jounin in the corner. The man was pretty big and had a cigarette in his mouth. He was talking to a woman with crimson eyes. She definitely would be someone that Kiba would like.

Sasuke walked up to them and waited for them to finish their conversation. He then asked, "Excuse me, jounin-san. Where can I find a man named Kakashi?"

The cigarette smoking jounin chuckled, "I think he's the sensei for Team Ten. Knowing him he isn't even awake yet, though. If you wait at training ground number ten you may catch him."

Sasuke bowed, "Thank you jounin-san."

"It's Asuma." Asuma chuckled, "And don't mention it."

Sasuke smirked with vigor anew. All he would have to do is wait for Kakashi to arrive at training ground ten and that book would be as good as his. Sasuke found training ground ten and hid in the bushes. He would wait until Kakashi arrived.

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"What a drag." Shikamaru sighed.

Asking the Hokage had proven fruitless. He didn't know where Kakashi was. Kiba and Shikamaru sighed as they walked down the street. The sun was growing higher into the sky, and the clock was ticking.

The two friends walked into the marked complex. It was then Shikamaru had an idea. "Anko-sensei called Kakashi 'Kakashi-_ero_' right?"

Kiba nodded.

"She also wants us to get a book he seems to be very attached to right?"

The dog boy nodded, still unknowing what Shikamaru was on about.

"Well, perhaps that book has adult material inside. Maybe we can use the store manager to find out where Kakashi's house is."

Kiba understood immediately, "Good idea!"

Shikamaru sighed, "And this is where we hit another impasse. Where do they sell adult books?"

Kiba smiled, "Maybe there?" He pointed to a large building called, "Bookstore"

Shikamaru smiled also, "Good idea."

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Kakashi Hatake was inside of the bookstore. He was glancing back and forth between the two new editions of Icha Icha. Which one should he get? After looking back and forth who knows how much, the jounin simply got both of the books. He grinned under his mask and bought both then turned and walked out. He bumped into a kid upon exiting and the kid said, "Sorry jounin-san."

Kakashi smiled, "Don't call me that, it's too formal; just call me Kakashi."

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Kiba smiled, "We have him Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru immediately went into action, "Sorry Kakashi-san. Shadow Possession Jutsu!" A shadow extended from under Shikamaru to catch Kakashi. The jounin jumped over it and ran off.

"Catch him!" Kiba yelled.

Shikamaru already was running, "I'm working on it." Shikamaru and Kiba were following Kakashi in a high speed chase. Many times Shikamaru almost lost Kakashi, but Kiba's nose was able to sniff him out. The chase led them to a training ground. Training ground ten to be precise. Kakashi landed and then was immediately tackled by a dark shadow.

"What?!" The jounin hollered.

The shadow smirked, "I've been waiting to get that book, hand it over." The shadow turned out to be Sasuke. Kakashi smirked under his mask and all of a sudden, Sasuke was under Kakashi's foot and Kakashi was on top, "You'll need to do better than that if you want the book."

Shikamaru was in the bushes that Sasuke was in moments earlier. No one would suspect him of being in there.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu." He whispered. A shadow snaked out of the bush and ensnared Kakashi. The masked jounin was stuck in a crouching position as Shikamaru was in. Shikamaru got out of the bushes and made Kakashi reach into his pocket. He pulled a little orange book out and Shikamaru made him throw it backwards toward the lazy ninja. Shikamaru caught it and dispelled the jutsu, only to get run over by a water dragon right after.

"I'm not giving up my book that easily!" Kakashi stated. Somehow he had gotten the book back and placed it safely in his backpack. Shikamaru's eye twitched as he had just gotten the book then it was stolen again. Sasuke made several handseals and shouted, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

A huge fireball appeared out of Sasuke's mouth as it appeared that Kakashi was engulfed in the blaze. However, that was not so as they all heard a voice underground.

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!" Sasuke yelped as he was pulled underground. When he was left with merely his head out, Shikamaru and Kiba snickered in spite of themselves. Kiba decided that it was his turn to attack.

"Fire Style: Tsuuga Bomb!"

Kakashi turned around and jumped over the attack. He was mildly surprised as he had never seen a technique like that, but it merely showed how far Kiba had gotten in learning Fire Jutsu. The Tsuuga Bomb exploded as it turned around and Kakashi glimpsed Kiba flying out unharmed.

'Impressive.' The jounin thought. He wondered for a fleeting moment if he should reveal his other eye, but decided against it.

Shikamaru prepped his best jutsu and decided to try to give Kakashi a whirl. "Wind Style: All Gales Elemental Shift!" the wind picked up as Kakashi was slammed into a tree. The masked man heard his back pop as he hit the bark and he silently grimaced. So there was more than just a plain old Nara beneath that lazy boy's exterior. He heard a voice behind him and decided to run for it.

"Fire Style: Blazing Bark Jutsu!"

Now Kakashi wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it. Kiba's dog, Akamaru, just sent several fiery flying dogs at him. Kakashi smirked and said, "Earth Style: Earth Wall Land Flip Jutsu!"

Kakashi slammed his palm against the ground and a wall made of dirt rose up. The dogs couldn't blast through the wall as they were extinguished.

'Why do they want my book?!' Kakashi asked himself frantically. He made several hand seals and called out, "Earth Style: Underground Projection Fish!"

Kiba felt tough no more as a rock formation appeared out of the ground and jabbed the boy in the stomach. "Ouch…" Kiba sighed.

Kakashi Was about to perform another jutsu but found that he couldn't move. His visible eye widened when he realized that he was caught in the shadow possession. Kakashi then smirked and poofed away.

"What?!" Shikamaru flinched, and then he heard a voice behind him.

"You know, you shouldn't let an enemy ninja get behind you." Kakashi held his hands in a Tiger sign, and Shikamaru knew that he was going to be crisped soon. But instead of using a fire jutsu, Kakashi jabbed his hand sign up Shikamaru's rear end. Shikamaru's eyes widened, then he felt the pain and yelped, then literally took off like a rocket.

"Konoha Supreme Taijutsu Technique, A Thousand Years of Death!" Kakashi finished.

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'Neh, Kyuubi-sama. What do we do now?' Akuma trudged down the dirt covered path. He was bored! After fighting that demon earlier, he just wanted to slaughter something.

Since he became a full demon, he had become far more… bloodthirsty, of sorts. He craved battle all the time and fighting the demon back then did nothing to calm his cravings. Even so, he still knew when to fight and not to fight. Becoming a demon had affected his appearance too. He grew three inches, becoming just over six foot, and his skin grew far paler. Strange gloves with blades were sheathed on a belt at his torso. The belt had to be that high so the blades wouldn't touch the ground. Underneath the belt was a tight sleeveless black shirt that showed off the lean yet prominent muscles that Akuma had developed. He had the kanji for "demon" tattooed on his left shoulder, and three piercings in his right ear, as well as two on his tongue, and one on his left eyebrow. He had visible fangs protruding from his lips, and they looked to be very sharp. His pants were the simple black baggy kind, but allowed for good pocket space, flexibility, and speed.

"**Simple."** The Kyuubi said, **"To get revenge on Konoha, we need connections. Connections to the villages that Konoha is an enemy with. Iwa, for example. I bet they're still pissed when that infernal Fourth Hokage decimated an entire one of their battalions."**

'Well, since you mentioned Iwa, should we head there?'

"**No. I have a better idea. In the demon world gossip flies around like birds on steroids. After a group of demons headed to the Human's Realm, they discovered that a new hidden village was created. It is called the Otogakure no Sato. They say that it is led by Orochimaru, one of Konoha's most hated enemies. Oto is also supposed to have a lot of information with the other hidden villages and connections to many of Konoha's enemies. I say we go there."**

'Hai, Kyuubi-sama.'

"**Also kit, tread lightly when it comes to Orochimaru. He may seem like a pedophile and nothing more, but even with all of the training I gave you, his strength cannot be matched. Even with seven tails of my power, I would lose."**

'Hai. I will watch myself.'

"**Atta kit."**

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"What was that?!" Kiba was appalled at what he had seen Kakashi do to Shikamaru. Not only was that violent, it seemed very awkward too. That Underground Projection Fish had hurt a lot, but he could manage. Akamaru, luckily, had not been hit by the technique and had no cuts or bruises on him.

Kakashi seemed to shift then look at Kiba. The dog boy hid behind the bushes as fast as he could, but Kakashi still found him. The masked man said, "Kiba… Kiba… Kiba. The best way to hide is Genjutsu, you should know that."

"Well, you can't use any Genjutsu on me with me looking at your feet!" Kiba said, averting his gaze to Kakashi's feet.

"Or can I?" Kakashi disappeared. He appeared behind Kiba and said, "As I said to Shikamaru, a ninja must never be allowed to sneak up behind you… A Thousand Years of Death!"

Kiba felt the same pain as Shikamaru and felt himself be launched into the air.

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Shikamaru rubbed his sore ass for the fifth time as he limped toward the battle field. Normally he wouldn't have this much motivation, but he still needed to help Kiba nonetheless, so he continued forward. He was about to sit down and rest, deciding that walking with a sore rear won't help any, but he saw Kiba land in front of him. The dog boy was holding his butt in pain and mumbling about a pedophilic lecher jounin. Shikamaru walked up to him and snapped him out of his daze with a kick to the shin then said, "Kiba, we still need to get that book!"

"Oh, yeah. I just hate that guy right now for shoving his finger up my ass." Kiba comically wept in pain.

"So do I. I guess we should rest now. We have until noon and walking around with a sore butt won't get us anywhere."

"I guess so."

The two boys took a seat on a rock and waited for their rears to stop hurting. Meanwhile, back at the battlefield, Sasuke got out of his little hole and was hiding in the bushes trying to come up with a way to get the book and actually get away with it. He knew he couldn't beat the jounin in one-on-one combat and he certainly didn't want to share the fate of the other two… then an idea hit him.

No, he couldn't work on a team. He was an avenger, right? Avengers need to work alone.

Sasuke ran around the clearing, still remaining in the cover of the trees and surrounding shrubbery. Once he was directly behind Kakashi, he began his attack. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" He whispered. A large stream of fire flew out of his mouth and flew straight for the jounin. Kakashi noticed this and said, "Good, but you still can't beat me." He jumped into the air and landed behind Sasuke. Said boy immediately feared for his rear but then he noticed Kakashi doing something else. The jounin had his hands positioned in a bird seal.

"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!" Kakashi encased Sasuke in a large bubble, but Sasuke couldn't seem to use his chakra, much less break free. It was then that Shikamaru and Kiba emerged from the bushes ahead, the two boys spotting Kakashi and the trapped Sasuke. They thought for a moment as to what they could do to beat Kakashi. Then, Shikamaru had a plan.

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Akuma's dark cerulean eyes scanned the surrounding area. He was looking back and forth for signs of enemies anywhere. He was always the suspicious kind, ever since he was a tiny kid. The demon boy scratched an itch on his neck and continued walking towards Oto. It was then that he sighted two people down the road. Using his demonically enhanced eyesight, he spotted two Kiri forehead protectors. What were two Kiri-nin doing here? He looked at them and noticed that one of them was a bit man carrying a large sword. He had bandages over the front of his face and his headband was slightly tilted. The other one seemed to be a girl, but at the same time, looked like a boy. He/she had brown eyes and seemed to still not have the hardened heart of battle veterans such as the man next to him/her.

The big one seemed to eye Akuma with great interest. Akuma glanced back. It was then that the man decided to talk. "Hey kid."

Akuma gazed at him impassively, "Yes?"

The man said, "You seem to be strong. How about you travel with us?"

Akuma considered the offer, "What do I get out of this?"

The man chuckled, "Well, you can get cash, that's for certain. You can also make a name for yourself in the ninja world since you probably don't have one. I know for a fact that I haven't seen you in the bingo books."

Akuma went to Kyuubi for advice, 'Take him up on his offer?'

"**Sure. It would help to get money in our pockets. Ask him for his name."** The fox demon advised. Akuma simply said, "What's your name?"

"Momochi Zabuza. This here is Haku." He pointed to the boy/girl beside him, "What about you?"

Akuma smirked, "My name is Chiniiro Akuma."

Zabuza seemed to frown, "So, will you come with us?"

Akuma smiled, "Sure."

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Shikamaru and Kiba had just discussed their plan and were ready to put it into action. They knew that Kakashi was kind of stuck while using the water prison jutsu, which was a bad move on his part, so they could use it to their advantage. Shikamaru extended a Shadow Possession Jutsu toward Kakashi, and he jumped, as expected. Kiba popped out from the side and used Tsuuga, forcing Kakashi to crouch in midair. This was when Akamaru knocked him into Shikamaru's shadow, forcing Kakashi to remove his hand immediately as he was forced to put it in a rat seal.

"Kiba, now!" Shikamaru ordered. Kiba acted at once and searched Kakashi for his book. Kiba found it and Shikamaru shouted, "Take it to Anko-sensei!"

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"You see, Akuma." Zabuza started, "We were hired by a man named Gato to kill a bridge builder named Tazuna. Tazuna's bridge threatens Gato's economy thus Gato needs him removed. We can't get at Tazuna now because he currently is somewhere in Konoha, and we can't get in there without being apprehended, but the bridge can't be completed either, so we have to wait for him to come out. Now, Tazuna isn't stupid, and when he comes out, he's probably gonna have ninja protecting him. Now, that's where we come in. When he comes out, I'm going to sent two men called the Demon Brothers at him. If the Demon Brothers get killed, you are to be our failsafe. Now the Demon Brothers are no pushovers. They probably would've killed some ninja or at least injured them. You are to sweep them up and if you get killed or injured critically, then it is my turn. Got it?"

Akuma nodded, "Sounds like a plan. However, what skill level of ninja do you suppose Tazuna will hire?"

Zabuza looked thoughtful, "I'm expecting high chuunin to low jounin, if he can afford it. Wave is in a state of chaos as of now, and its economy is really slow. Tazuna probably may not afford to make this an A or B rank mission, meaning we may just face a bunch of Genin."

"Indeed." Akuma's right hand unconsciously stroked the blades of his Kiretsume. "Either way, the best reward is always the slaughter." He smiled.

Zabuza smirked at him, "You know kid, I'm starting to like you already."

Akuma grinned, "I have that effect on people."

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Anko was busily munching away on a stick of dango as Kiba appeared onto the scene with a certain book in his hand. Anko was baffled, "You actually got it?!"

Kiba nodded.

"Did you have any help?" Anko asked dangerously.

"Well, Shikamaru helped, and Sasuke kind of helped by getting trapped in that bubble."

"You pass! You all pass!"

"What?" Kiba asked incredulously, "I thought only one of us would pass!"

Anko smiled then said, "But you worked as a team! That was the true purpose of the test!"

Shikamaru and Sasuke were caught walking into the clearing, one soggy and pissed, the other crisped and saying troublesome.

"We all pass!" Kiba said to Shikamaru. Shikamaru brightened up while Sasuke merely scowled.

"Yup!" Anko confirmed, walking up to the trio, "And we will begin our first mission tomorrow. Don't forget! We will meet at seven o'clock sharp, okay?"

"Hai, Anko-sensei." The three chorused.

"Okay, now shoo!" Anko dismissed the Genin with a flick of her wrist. The trio all walked toward their respective houses, while Anko was still standing there, thinking. 'Maybe this won't be so bad after all.'

She finished her dango and walked off, content with her students' performance.

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A few weeks or so later…

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"Goddamn it!" Kiba Inuzuka was furious, "I will _not_ chase after that goddamn cat again! I want a better mission!"

"Kiba!" Iruka raged, "Do _not_ speak to the Hokage like that! Just because you say that you want a harder mission doesn't mean that you are ready for one!"

"Iruka." The Sandaime Hokage immediately calmed him down, "Maybe they are ready. After all, they have had excellent performance in all of their previously assigned missions. First, let me tell them about the mission rankings and see it they are up to it.

"D rank missions always stay inside of the village. They are missions that most Genin call 'chores'. Most involve painting fences, buying groceries, weeding gardens, and finding the infamous Tora the Cat. They are exclusively taken on by Genin. C rank missions involve escorting someone or ridding an unlucky town of bandits. They are usually taken outside of the village and are given to Genin and Chuunin. B rank missions are a little tougher and you actually have to fight enemy ninja, although they are only chuunin level or lower. They are taken on by Chuunin and Jounin. A rank missions are exclusive to Jounin and involve fighting other jounin ranked ninjas. There is also an S rank but those are the really tough ones that most don't do in their entire lifetime.

"Let's let Anko decide if they are ready for a harder mission, because she has seen them in action more often currently. She will have a better image of their current power, Iruka. Go ahead Anko."

Anko began, "I think they are ready. Kiba looks like he's been dying for this and these past missions have been too easy for him. Shikamaru and Sasuke also seem to be having no problem with the missions assigned and we have a great record so far, right?"

"I can confirm that. Very well, I'll give you an easy C rank mission. Your job is to protect the client from bandits and thieves. He also wants you to guard him while he finishes building his bridge. Come in, Tazuna."

A drunken old man walked into the office. He had spiky gray hair and was carrying a foreign hat at his side. He didn't look too happy about the team he was given.

"So, this is the team I get for this mission? I expected ninjas; not a slut, a lazy asswipe, an emo, and a boy with a frickin' puppy. What is th-"

"Hey! I'll kill you old man!" Kiba raged as he attempted to charge at Tazuna, only for his collar to be grabbed by Anko. "Let me go Anko-sensei! I want to kill him!"

Anko chuckled, "It wouldn't do to kill the man you were hired to protect, eh Kiba? We'd lose a lot of money."

"Humph." Kiba crossed his arms.

"Well, guys. We should get packed tonight and meet at the front gate tomorrow at seven, okay?"

"Sure." Kiba said, the rest agreed without speaking.

"Good!" Anko grinned, "Let's not be late!"

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At the front gate the next morning, everyone but Tazuna was assembled. Team Eight was sitting on assorted benches waiting for the old man to arrive. They heard a groaning and looked over and saw a groggy Tazuna holding his head.

"Well," Anko started. "It seems that Mr. Hangover is here, so I guess we can get going!"

"Ugh." Groaned Tazuna. His head felt like someone stuck a thousand needles in it, and it hurt… badly. The rest of Team eight stood up beside Anko as Tazuna made his way towards them. He looked into Anko's eyes and said, "Well, let's get this on… I guess."

They set out and as the sun sat in the sky and the trip so far was quite uneventful, so Kiba didn't notice the puddle until he smelt it.

"Hm… Anko-sensei, this puddle smells funny." Kiba said. Tazuna was confused as to how Kiba could smell the puddle of all things, but dismissed it as a weird ninja trick. Anko looked at the puddle suspiciously then stood in front of it. Like clockwork, two figures rose from the water. They each wore gas masks and odd headbands. One had two horns at either side and the other had a horn in the middle. They each wore a strange gauntlet on opposite hands and those gauntlets were bound together by a chain.

"The Demon Brothers." Anko started, "Or Meizu and Gozu, last name unknown. Chuunin level missing-nin from Kirigakure no Sato. Famous for their combination attacks. What are you doing here?"

The one with the single horn spoke first, "Well, we just happened to drop by." He said in an almost mechanical voice. "To kill the bridge builder!"

Tazuna unconsciously took a step back as the two brothers readied their chain. Anko never was it as they bound her up in it, and shredded her to pieces. Kiba yelped, Sasuke flinched, and Shikamaru said, "Argh, troublesome people." He put his hands in the rat seal, "Shadow Possession Jutsu!"

A shadow extended and caught the two brothers. "Nice try." They both said in their metallic voice. They melted into water and appeared behind Shikamaru. "Now it's time for your death!" They were about to wrap the chain around Shikamaru but they heard a voice and spun around.

"No!" Kiba cried, "Gatsuuga Meteor Smash!" Akamaru transformed into a feral looking Kiba, and Kiba became more feral. They both used Tsuuga and then their attacks caught fire. They smashed into one of the demon brothers and sent him flying, unfortunately dragging the other one with him due to the chain.

"Thanks, Kiba." Shikamaru said. He watched as the two came back. "I'm gonna be more careful this time." Shikamaru said to them, meaning he would anticipate a sneak attack from behind. The Demon Brothers looked thoughtful for a moment before making hand seals and launching a large water ball at Shikamaru. The lazy boy dodged it and shouted, "Wind Style: All Gales Elemental Shift!"

The wind picked up and started twirling around the Demon Brothers as the chain was forced to wrap around them. The brothers looked nervous and Shikamaru told everyone else to look away. A sickening crunch was heard as the Demon Brothers exploded into pieces.

When Kiba looked back, he only had one thing to say. "Ouch."

It was then that Anko decided to appear, scaring everyone else shitless. She was supposed to be dead! Anko rubbed the back of her head and said, "Sorry! I just wanted to watch you guys fight."

"Whatever." Sasuke said.

"Hey, you didn't even do anything!" Kiba shouted.

Sasuke realized this and started mentally cursing himself for being so weak. Anko, meanwhile, had other ideas as she walked over to Tazuna and asked him what was happening in her usual tactful way.

"What in the hell was that?! This mission is now a B rank mission, and maybe A rank if we continue fighting more ninjas! This mission is now out of our league. We might as well just walk on back to Konoha and forget about this whole thing!"

Tazuna was sweating under the crazy jounin's glare, "Well, you see, Wave country is super poor! I could barely afford a C rank mission, yet it had to be done! You see, there is this super evil businessman named Gato-"

Anko looked thoughtful, "You mean Gato as in Gato Shipping Company?"

"Yeah. And as I was saying, he took the whole economy and now Wave country is super poor! We barely have enough money to feed ourselves! I need to build this bridge so that Gato's trade is usurped and we can recover. I know that the Gato Shipping Company is legal, but underground it is used for smuggling stuff like weapons and drugs. He also only cares about his own money, that's it! So I'm begging you to continue!"

Anko sighed, "Whatever… Let's see what the team says. Who wants to go on the mission?"

Sasuke smirked in his usual Uchiha fashion, "I want to go. It will be fun to test out my power and see my limits."

Shikamaru said, "It will be troublesome, that's for sure, but it's for the good of Wave country, so I'm in."

And finally Kiba thrust his fist into the air, "Hell yeah I want to go! Both me and Akamaru want some action and I always wanted to be a hero!"

Anko grinned, "Okay, Tazuna-san, we'll keep going." Then she turned to the rest of the team and pumped her fist forward, "Okay! Let's keep going!"

It was then that a voice appeared out of nowhere and said, "I'm so sorry for interrupting this dramatic moment, but you would have been better off going back to Konoha."

Anko whipped around and found herself staring into the cerulean eyes of Chiniiro Akuma.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_Okay, well that's that for chapter two. I hope you like it. Do you hate the cliffhanger I put there or do you like it? Well, what's going to happen in the fight between Team Eight and Akuma? Will Tazuna and the rest of them make it to Wave? Will they not? Will Akuma die? The only way to find out is to read the next chapter, once it comes out of course. Ha ha ha! Chapter three will be a doozy so yeah, be looking forward to it! Ja ne!_

_-Flat Rock "Woopsire"_


	3. Chapter 3

Shadow of a Fox

_A/N: Well, chapter three of a good story. Sorry it's a little late, stupid internet died so I couldn't post this troublesome thing. Do you know how annoying this is when the internet never works no matter how hard you try? Yeah, it happened to me. Well, I hope that this turns out good. I promise a lot of good action here! Also… An anonymous user asked me if this fic will be yaoi. I am sorry, but I just don't write yaoi. I don't like it and I wouldn't write it. Sorry, random anonymous user. Well, now that that's done, let's rock eh?_

Chapter 3 – Confrontations

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Anko's brown eyes never left Akuma's blue. It was like a silently announced stare-off. Anko looked furious and Akuma was smirking. It was then Anko decided to shout. "Why'd you steal my thunder?! You totally ruined the moment!"

Akuma's smirk never left. He was going to have fun pissing her off. "Oh, I did? I guess I could have timed that better, huh? Well, people, my name is Chiniiro Akuma, and I am the one who will kill all of you!"

"Rrgh! So damn cocky! You're annoying me!" Anko attacked. "Senei'Jyashuu!" _(A/N: I hope I spelt that right…)_

It was then that Akuma sidestepped the attack and beheaded all six snakes with a kunai knife. Akuma's mane of black and red hair seemed to have a life of its own as the demon boy whipped around slicing the heads off of each and every one of the poor snakes. Blood sprayed everywhere and Tazuna almost lost his lunch.

"I didn't say 'go' yet, Anko-san." Akuma waved his pointer finger in a 'tsk, tsk, tsk' motion.

'No way! That boy just neutralized my snake attack! His speed really is something.' Anko was appalled. The rest of them were thinking along the same lines.

"You seem to be bothered by my speed, eh?" Akuma placed his hands into the gloves hung on the belt below his chest, "You seem to be frightened by my power already. I haven't even begun to use my power yet!" He removed the gloves that had blades on each finger off of then and then said, "These are the Kiretsume. The demonic claws that can cut through anything! You can't touch me!"

"**Kit, don't you think you're showing off a little?"** The Kyuubi silently asked Akuma.

'Aw, it won't hurt to intimidate them, yeah?'

"**Whatever. Just don't use the Control unless it's an absolute emergency. Got it?"**

'Yeah.' "Well, since you are a lady and a bunch of brats, I might as well go easy on you."

"Hey!" Kiba raged, "Brats?! You're no older than us! You're just taller!"

"And I'm more powerful!" Akuma teased, and then he turned to Anko and said, "So, I've heard that you were Orochimaru's apprentice. That must make you pretty powerful. I'd like to test my limits on you. Would you like to fight me with the entire team or are you confident enough to take me on alone?"

"Alone, if you will." Anko decided.

"Then I will fight with a demon's honor and kill you before killing the old man and the brats."

Anko smirked, "You're not really a demon. You're just saying that just to intimidate us."

Akuma smiled, "Oh believe me, I am one hundred percent demon, which is why I follow the honor code."

Anko was confused, "I don't get you."

Akuma grinned, "Sometimes I don't even get myself. Oh well, It's time for you to die here."

"A little cocky are we?" Anko said.

"I should say the same thing about you." Akuma smiled, "But let's get this on, shall we?"

He seemed to disappear and Anko braced herself. Anko waited for a sound, any indication of where Akuma would attack from. The whole forest seemed still as Anko waited. She heard a slight rustle and turned around, only to get slashed in the back.

"Ah!" Anko yelped.

"Who would have known that you would have fallen for such an _easy_ trick?" Akuma licked the blood off of his blade. "Tastes kind of sweet. Sourish in a way."

"Senei'Jyashuu!" More snakes shot out of Anko's sleeve. Akuma simply sliced them all up and said to her, "I'm sensing some one trick ponyness here."

Anko appeared behind Akuma and shouted, "Well I'm sensing this kunai in your throat!" She stabbed Akuma in the throat, kunai going in the back and out the front. She pulled it out, satisfied, and was about to turn around when she heard his voice, "I hope you're not finished with me yet."

She turned back and saw his neck completely healed. "What?!"

Akuma, still looking away from her, laughed, "I _am_ a demon you know."

Anko was terrified now. If he really _was_ a demon, then she would have no way of winning against him. Or at least, very minimal ways. She knew that the best way to deal with demons is to cripple them, but this guy was just too insanely fast. She fell into thinking mode.

Maybe she could attack from a long range. If she hid while she had a snake summon do the work it might work. But then again, she didn't want to see Manda after one of his minions had been shredded to pieces. She could try using jutsu from a long range. The only thing is that if she were to hide, then most jutsus would give her location away. It was a painful process, thinking of these things, but then an idea hit her.

She still had her students. Unlike demon's honor, or whatever that shit was; ninjas never usually play fair, and to enemies often go against their word. She smirked and hade hand gestures to Kiba, who caught their meaning instantly.

The dog boy charged at Akuma, and then Kiba fed Akamaru a soldier pill and watched the dog's fur go red. Kiba smirked and shouted, "Man-Beast Clone!"

Akamaru turned into a feral looking Kiba, and Kiba turned more feral. The dog boy's posture became more hunched and his nails grew longer. Akamaru was an exact replica of the current beastly Kiba.

"Ultimate Fire Bomb Gatsuuga!"

The Kibas became red hot drills as they caught into flames. Akuma raised an eyebrow at the interesting technique. "Creative." Akuma said, "But it's time for you to get impaled."

Akuma held his Kiretsume so that the blades were pointing toward both of the Kibas' attacks. Apparently Kiba saw this coming, as he piloted his drill-like tornadoes towards the sharp objects. It was then Akuma was utterly surprised as both Tsuugas exploded, rather violently, mind you. Akuma was blown skyward by the two explosions.

'Damn.' Akuma thought, 'I underestimated them.'

Akuma's head hit a poor random tree as his neck broke with an audible crack and the victimized tree toppled over. Kiba cheered and almost had Akamaru change back to a dog when he noticed Akuma get up. Kiba was flabbergasted.

"How did you get up?! I broke your neck! We all heard it!"

Akuma placed his hands over his ears and repositioned his head from its almost backward state to a far more comfortable forward position. His neck snapped back into place with a loud pop.

"Ahh, much better," Akuma looked toward Kiba, "I suppose I'd made a lot of mistakes in this fight, but the biggest one by far was underestimating you, dog boy." He positioned his hands into a seal that was foreign to Kiba. "I suggest you start running."

His hands whirled through many more unrecognizable seals when they suddenly stopped. Kiba expected a jutsu to come out but instead found the demon's hands in a rat seal.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu, success." Shikamaru drawled, then he looked shocked, "What, did you guys forget about me?!"

"I didn't." Another voice behind Akuma responded, "Fire Style: Mythical Flame Flower Jutsu!"

Several fireballs shot out of the attacker's shadowed mouth and flew towards Akuma. The demon boy only had one thing to say to that.

"Fuck."

He was engulfed in flames as the attacked landed, the mysterious but well placed shadows fading away revealing the attacker to be none other than Sasuke. The Uchiha smirked and said, "So much of a demon you are."

It was then that Sasuke felt hands on his ankles and felt himself being pulled down.

"What the shit?!" Sasuke fell underground as Akuma popped out in front of him. Sasuke was once again reduced to a head above the ground. The Uchiha boy _hated_ this jutsu for obvious reasons, but the bigger question was, how did he get out?

Even inside of the blaze the Shadow Possession Jutsu was still active, meaning that Akuma wouldn't be able to do handseals. It was possible to perform techniques without them to escape, but why would he spend countless hours mastering the Head Hunter Jutsu of all things?

Akuma gave Sasuke no time to think about it as he swiped his Kiretsume in his direction. Luckily for Sasuke, Kakashi had used this same jutsu on him a few weeks earlier and the Uchiha knew how to get out. He applied chakra to his arms and extended his fingers, launching himself out of the hole and just barely dodging Akuma's blades.

"Lucky." The demon boy mumbled. He knew that these Genin weren't ordinary. He knew that from the way they stood, spoke, looked, everything. And what really riled him up was that he could never land a hit on one, even if he trapped them, the Genin would just slip out of his hands like soap.

Oh, it frustrated him to no end.

Akuma decided to stop playing around, or so he pretended, and replaced his Kiretsume back onto his belt. He then flashed through handseals and shouted, "Demon Art: Hands of the Underworld!"

Sasuke looked below him instinctively as a shadowy hand shot up from the ground in front of him and wrapped itself around him, before grabbing him in a chokehold. The Uchiha made a sort of gurgling noise as the hand squeezed the life from him. Sasuke wasn't down yet, however, as he grabbed a kunai from his holster and cut the arm in half. The hand made a squealing noise before both halves retreated back into the ground where they emerged from.

Akuma rubbed his temple, "That was a perfectly good hand you killed! I guess I'll just have to trap you until I kill the other two brats. "Demon Art: Cage of Hands!"

Several hundred hands appeared around Sasuke, this time coming from thin air, as they moved into a dome-like formation. Akuma chuckled. "This technique had a mind of its own. Throw a kunai, a hand will catch it. Use a jutsu, the hands will dodge. Even if you do manage to hit a hand, it'll regenerate faster than you can move, and besides, the hands will try to get in your way anyway! It's impossible to get out of the Cage of Hands!"

Sasuke swore under his breath as he saw the hands appear and just sit there, palms facing him, as if they were trying to mock him. He growled and stood still, looking for a weakness in the technique. One thing Sasuke noticed, a strange coincidence, was that all of the hands were lefties. When one of the hands reversed and pointedly flipped Sasuke the finger, the Uchiha decided that that was the last straw. He growled and charged at the wall, only for a hand to fly out from the other side and pull him back into the center.

This wasn't good, he realized. Whenever he tried to attack a part of the 'wall', a hand would approach from a random location and stop the attack, be it grabbing his hands when he tried to make a jutsu, holding him back when he charged, and catching all kunai and shuriken thrown.

It was like a totally sentient prison.

Seeing as the hands weren't moving, Sasuke simply began to think of ways to deal with the situation.

_**With Akuma**_

Akuma walked away from the cage, smirking to himself. It was then that he glimpsed Anko and the other two brats of hers regrouping and discussing a strategy. They seemed very confident in their decision, Akuma noticed as he watched their expressions from afar. They were talking rather quietly and he couldn't hear a thing, but judging from the looks of their faces, he was about to have a very fun time today.

He decided to cut their conversation short as he walked into the path.

'_Clever.'_ He thought, _'the old man is nowhere in sight… Ah well, guess I've got to kill them and get his location out of them.'_ He had a very wide grin on his face when he approached them.

"Sorry to burst your bubble. I know you guys must have been having a rather _intriguing_ conversation, but I was wondering if you knew where a certain old man was." He said with a sarcastic grin plastered onto his face causing his whisker marks to scrunch up.

"Just go now!" Anko yelled. Shikamaru stood up quickly and shouted, "Wind Style: All Gales Elemental Shift!"

Akuma noticed that the wind picked up then he noticed two tornadoes, small ones mind you, approach.

"Ooh. Wind jutsu. Interesting." Akuma was about to jump back when he noticed that he couldn't move. This time, Shikamaru was in a position where it would be almost impossible to go underground, and Akuma noticed that he was in the same position too.

"Shit." Was all he said before he got slashed and pretty much torn up by the two twisters.

"Yes!" Kiba yelled. "Uber Flaming Gatsuuga of Death!" The dog boy began a Gatsuuga and it caught on fire, although it was bigger than any before. When the Gatsuuga hit the tornadoes, it grew even bigger, and it slammed into Akuma full force.

Once all of the smoke and the like cleared, a heavily damaged Akuma remained. He was breathing heavily and his clothes were burned and torn. Not only was he bleeding rather heavily through his almost non-existent shirt, his left leg was severed too, probably by one of the tornadoes.

"What a shame." Akuma drawled, "Well, this is what I get for being so cocky. I can't fight with a missing leg, so I'll have to take my leave. Come our next meeting, you won't be so lucky." He placed his hands on the ground, "Demonic Earth Summoning: Door to the Other Side!"

A door made out of earth rose from the ground behind Akuma. It opened revealing some dark place.

"Tata." Akuma said. He hopped backwards through the door, which closed behind him.

"Damn it!" Anko cursed. Their golden opportunity just slipped down the drain.

"How did he do that?!" Kiba wondered/yelled. No one he had seen had done a jutsu such as that. It was totally unheard of for him. It didn't occur to Kiba that the others were thinking the same thing.

It was then that Sasuke emerged into the clearing. He was muttering something about stupid hands and flipping him off, but even with his enhanced hearing Kiba couldn't be sure. Anko, once she was done muttering about stupid ninja brats, smiled and said, "Well, at least that kid's out of the way, come on, let's go. And Tazuna-san, you can come out now."

The drunken old man emerged from an undisclosed bush, covered in leaves and objects that forsook the shrubbery to clinging to the old man's clothes. He attempted to remove said objects, but after deciding that it was useless, he gave up.

They continued their journey down the path. According to Tazuna, they were almost to the port. It was there that they would travel to Wave country. Kiba was anxious to travel there, as he had never been to a foreign country before. Shikamaru decided that the whole matter was troublesome, but Sasuke was thinking something totally unrelated.

The others thought he was just being the usual broody Sasuke, but the Uchiha was stuck in retrospect over the previous fights. For both of them, he had been useless. All he did was get caught in traps and then right when he got out, the threat was gone. It was always like that. How did Shikamaru and Kiba get the power that only Uchihas deserve? It made no sense. He was an avenger, and avengers were the ones with the most righteous purpose, yet Shikamaru and Kiba got all of the power. It irked him to no end.

Shikamaru was simply gazing up at the clouds, trying to decipher their shapes in his head. He has long ago mastered walking and staring up into the sky at the same time, so this wasn't a chore for the deer boy. Kiba was thinking of how well he fought that Akuma kid and at the same time holding Akamaru and stroking him.

Anko was still wondering about how that boy could really be a demon. She had heard legends of demons and knew about the Kyuubi attack, with the container dying six years after that, but she couldn't help but notice the similarities between Akuma and the demon vessel.

They both had whisker marks, although Akuma's were far more defined. They both had cerulean eyes, but Akuma's were slitted, verses the demon container's normal orbs. That was where the similarities ended, though. The demon container had blonde hair and Akuma's hair was red and black. Akuma was rather tall and the demon container was tiny.

The only solution she could come up with was that Akuma was some sort of vassal for the Kyuubi, and maybe had come for revenge? It was so confusing…

Anko was snapped out of her thoughts when Tazuna announced their arrival at the port. It was a small one, and Tazuna led them to a boat that looked like it had seen better days. Although it had a motor, the rower didn't bother to use it for some reason.

On board of the boat, they were told to be silent and Anko figured out why they didn't use the motor. The rower had warned them that if they were too noisy, then Gato's patrol boats would come and that wasn't a good thing.

When the bridge Tazuna mentioned came into view, they were all awestruck at its sheer size. Kiba decided to vocalize his opinion, rather loudly I might add.

"Hot damn! That's one huge-ass bridge!"

All of the others on the boat, save for Sasuke, immediately hissed. "Shh!"

"Sorry." Kiba apologized lamely.

They all sighed.

_**With Akuma**_

"Ow, ow, ow…" Akuma's leg felt like it was on fire. Having a leg amputated by an enemy never felt good. He sat on a bed trying to tend to the wound. It was then the door opened, revealing Zabuza. The sword wielding missing-nin grimaced at the sight.

"Ouch." Zabuza sympathized, "What happened."

"I underestimated the brats." Akuma sighed, "And paid for it in blood."

Zabuza decided to switch to info gathering mode, "Well, what were they like?"

Akuma began his explanation, "Well, the jounin is someone to watch out for. She is a sadist and a strategist at heart. Her attacks aren't very unique, but the poison can be deadly for humans. She uses snake attacks a lot, but mainly focuses on 'Senei'Jyashuu'. That attack summons snakes out of her sleeves which fly at you. Easy to dispatch.

"The dog boy, Kiba, uses partner attacks with his dog buddy. He spins and catches on fire, and then his attack will explode, so yeah. That Shikamaru guy uses a shadow to force people to imitate him and he'll do this thing with wind that'll make tornadoes and stuff. That Sasuke guy uses a lot of fire jutsu, but he's easy enough."

Zabuza nodded, "I see. Well, Haku and I will wait for them to arrive at Wave."

"Good luck, and don't underestimate them because of their looks." Akuma advised.

Zabuza grunted and exited the hideout. Akuma was left alone. He smirked and said, "Demonic Earth Style: Recovery of life."

He looked at his leg and saw that rock was slowly appearing where his leg was. He said aloud, "Next time we meet, I will be ready, and you will suffer."

_**With Team Eight**_

Kiba yawned. He was so bored. They were walking down a dirt road in some forest area. There was absolutely nothing to do right now. He looked at Shikamaru and noticed that he was rather forlorn. Kiba walked closer to him and said, "What's up, Shika?"

Shikamaru sighed, "I know this is troublesome, but I feel so sick. I've been feeling this way ever since I killed those Demon Brother guys."

Kiba remembered the way Shikamaru brutally killed them with their own chain and said, "Don't worry about it. Ninjas do what ninjas have to do, its part of our job, Shika."

Shikamaru smiled a little, "Thanks, Kiba."

It was then that Akamaru ran off and jumped into a random bush. Kiba looked confused until Akamaru jumped out holding a squirming show hare in between his teeth.

"Akamaru!" Kiba raged, "You know better than to grab random rabbits out of the blue!"

Akamaru dropped the rabbit, which just lay there, and barked/yapped several times. Kiba seemed to understand this and he walked over to the rabbit and sniffed it.

"You're right Akamaru; it does smell like a person. Sorry boy." Kiba pet Akamaru lovingly. It was then Anko interrupted the moment by Tackling Tazuna down and yelling, "Everyone, down!"

An enormous sword flew over their heads and embedded itself into a tree. A man stood atop the stilled sword. He had bandages covering his face and no eyebrows. He wore his Mist headband slightly toward the left side of his head.

"Zabuza Momochi." Anko hissed, "Aka, Demon of the Bloody Mist. A rank missing-nin from Mist. Skilled in the silent killing method and the Zanbatou."

"It seems you've done your homework, little lady, but I've done mine too. Anko Mitarashi, A rank ninja from Konoha. Uses Orochimaru's snake techniques to poison and kill opponents." By this time Zabuza had pulled his sword out of the tree and had it parallel to his body, tip against the ground. It wasn't that that had Kiba, Shikamaru, and Sasuke wondering, but what they were thinking was, _'Who is this Orochimaru?'_

Zabuza chuckled, "So, hand over the old man and you can run off."

Anko jumped up and landed in front of Tazuna, "Nope. You're gonna get your ass handed to you. Kids, form the Delta formation around Tazuna. I'll handle Zabuza."

The kids did as they were told and formed in a triangle around Tazuna. Anko smirked and stood calm, holding a kunai in her right hand. Zabuza held his Zanbatou in his mouth as he made a strange sign.

"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu."

The mist thickened considerably and Zabuza soon was nowhere in sight. He was silent for a while, and Anko stood stiff as a statue. It was then that the killing intent came. It was massive, Shikamaru was paralyzed, Kiba and Akamaru were whimpering, Sasuke was cringing, and Tazuna pissed his pants. Zabuza spoke, only chilling the Genin further. "There are eight points. Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, sub-clavian artery, kidneys, and the heart. Which one should I strike first?" His voice seemed to come from everywhere.

Anko looked at her frightened pupils and said, "Don't worry 'bout it. He won't kill you while I'm alive."

"Let's see." Anko blocked Zabuza's incoming strike with her kunai. It only managed to slow down the big blade as Anko was forced to step backwards from Zabuza's sheer strength. Anko blocked several more strikes this way before she yelled, "Senei'Ta Jyashuu!"

Snakes shot out of her sleeves in every direction. One hit Zabuza and Anko rushed to the spot where her snake hit. The serpents recoiled into her sleeves as she grabbed a sword from her trench coat.

Yet Zabuza was nowhere to be found. Only a puddle existed where he was hit.

"Shit. Water clone." Anko swore. She listened for Zabuza. It was several moments before she was kicked, sending her flying forwards and landing on the water. She stood up and smirked, wiping the blood off of her face where she was kicked. It was then she heard something.

"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu." Water formed a sphere around Anko and she was forced to curl up. Sasuke recognized this jutsu and said, "Argh! That damn jutsu!"

Anko was worried, genuinely worried about her students as Zabuza created three water clones. She yelled, "Kids! Get out of here while you still can! Zabuza's clones can only travel a certain distance away from the real one! Get Tazuna and get out!"

"Nope." It was Shikamaru who spoke. He said, "Those who fail their mission are scum, but those who abandon their teammates are worse than scum. A friend of yours told me that." Shikamaru said, then he decided, "Now, we need a plan. Cover me."

Kiba got in front of Shikamaru and Sasuke did too. Shikamaru got into his classic thinking pose and thought out the whole situation.

'_Zabuza uses water techniques. Earth beats water, but none of us know any earth techniques, as far as I know. We have a good amount of shuriken and kunai left, as well as a demon wind shuriken. Zabuza's clones probably aren't as strong as the real one and the real one can't remove his hand out of the bubble. Hmm… We could have Kiba use Akamaru and use a Gatsuuga to Zabuza. He'll be forced to jump. Sasuke could then throw the demon wind shuriken at him. He'll probably catch it. What could I do then…? I can't get him with the Shadow possession because he is on top of the water. Maybe I could disrupt his balance while he tries to catch it. All Gales Elemental Shift will do that.'_

Shikamaru's eyes opened and he said, "I have a plan. The clones will get in the way so we have to kill them first."

"Okay." The other two nodded. Kiba engaged the clone in front of him, using man beast clone and Gatsuuga. He knew that his fire techniques wouldn't work so he decided not to bother. Kiba spiraled toward the Zabuza clone, but the clone simply raised his sword to block the strike.

"Ow!" Kiba fell to the ground as his head started to throb. The Zabuza clone didn't notice Akamaru coming in from behind until the last minute, and attempted to black, but couldn't and was hit in the face. The clone dissolved into water.

Sasuke fought the clone closest to Anko. He used the classic Uchiha Taijutsu first off and engaged the clone in an all out brawl. It was then the clone started using his sword that Sasuke jumped up, forming handseals and yelling, "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

Several fireballs flew out of Sasuke's mouth and headed toward the clone. The clone used a water jutsu to ward off the fireballs but that only revealed the shuriken hidden in them. The clone was stabbed to death and was dispelled.

Shikamaru had caught the clone he engaged in a Shadow Possession. The clone threw his sword into the air. Shikamaru ran to where the clone was, making the clone run to where Shikamaru was, and caught the sword. Shikamaru then used the sword to slice the clone in half, causing the clone and, much to Shikamaru's disappointment, the sword dispelled as well.

The clones were out of the way, now for the real one. Shikamaru called all of the team members to him and whispered a plan in their ears. They nodded in conformation as they headed to the positions Shikamaru advised.

"Kiba, now!" Shikamaru shouted. The dog boy was one step ahead of him as he and Akamaru formed a Gatsuuga. They spiraled towards Zabuza. The mist-nin had no choice but to jump. Sasuke then tossed a huge shuriken at towards the arm that was inside of the water prison. Zabuza grinned beneath the bandages, "You think a lousy shuriken can get me?" He teased. His free arm attempted to catch the incoming projectile, but Zabuza found that his arm was being blown backward. He looked forward and saw Shikamaru's hands in a rabbit seal.

'_So that must be the tornado thing Akuma mentioned. It seems he can do more with wind than just make tornadoes.'_

Zabuza was forced to take his arm out of the prison unless he wanted it removed, so he growled and said, "Lucky brats."

Anko was finally free; she fell to the ground in a heap, and then quickly got up. Zabuza saw this and charged at her. Anko smirked, "You know that the same trick won't work on me." She jumped up into the air and began forming seals.

"Fire Style: Burning Snake's Wrath!" She spat out a huge fire-borne snake and it flew toward Zabuza. Unfazed, he simply doused it with another jutsu, "Water Style: Water Vortex jutsu!"

A huge wall of water incinerated the helpless serpent, but Anko didn't quit. She said, "Earth Style: Quicksand Serpent jutsu!"

A lump formed in the ground behind Zabuza as a snake began to form. It roared then charged at Zabuza. The Mist missing-nin avoided it and then said, "Water Style: Water Dragon Blast jutsu!"

The water beside him began to rise and shape as a dragon. Anko's eyes widened as she saw the beast come for her. Quickly, she reacted, "Earth Style: Earth Wall Land Flip!"

A huge wall, at least tem meters, sprouted out of the ground. Zabuza's dragon crashed into it forcefully causing only itself to break. The wall stood strong, since Earth element beats Water. Anko smirked and said, "Well, that was a little close." She gazed at Zabuza and said, "Ninja Art: Arrest!"

Fibers appeared out of the ground and ensnared Zabuza. They were sticky, very much so, and for the life of him, Zabuza couldn't take them off. His arms were rendered useless because they were stuck to his side, and he was wrapped in a twisting mop of the cream colored threads.

Anko walked up to Zabuza, brimming with sadistic glee. "Heehee… How should I torture you first?"

"Don't…" That was all Zabuza could say before the fibers covered his mouth. Anko yelled, "Don't speak while I'm speaking! Anyways, thanks for falling into my trap!"

Zabuza would yell, "What?!" but his mouth was covered, so all that was heard was a grunt.

"Heehee. You see, I started coming up with a plan when you used your silent killing technique. After I blocked your sword, I spat on it. The main weakness of Arrest is that it needs a beacon to home into. I have a special chemical imbued in my spit, courtesy of a man who I hate, that I use as that beacon. After that, I tried to distract you so you wouldn't dodge the fibers of Arrest. It was then that you kicked me onto the water and went there yourself, totally screwing up my plan. The fibers of Arrest can't survive on water, so yeah. I didn't mean to get caught in your wonder ball, but that helped disguise my plans I guess. The kids did a damn good job with freeing me out, and then I put my plan back into place. I used my Fire Snake to make you think I was attacking you instead of doing something else. After that, I used Quicksand Snake to help move you back onto land. You dodged it and hopped onto land, just like I hoped, then you used Water Dragon Blast. I had to defend myself before I could Arrest you, hence the Earth Wall. Then, you were totally unaware of the fact that Arrest was coming. Fun! And now I'm kinda winded, so I guess I'll just kill you now."

Anko used the kunai in her hand, and stabbed it clean through Zabuza's neck. And that was the end of Zabuza.

Then something came out of the trees. A person. He had a mask on that had Mist's insignia on the forehead. An androgynous voice came from the masked person.

"Well, it seems shat my job has already been done." The hunter-nin walked closer to Anko. "If you don't mind, I am to take the sword to the Mizukage. May I have it?"

Anko released her arrest and gave Zabuza's famous sword to the hunter-nin. "Go ahead. If the Mizukage wants it, then I have no objections."

"Thank you." The hunter-nin said before using some sort of fire jutsu to light Zabuza's body on fire and burned it. The hunter-nin then jumped away.

"Hmm…" Kiba said. "Akamaru says there's something fishy about that hunter-nin.

Anko looked at Kiba, "Well, we'd better hurry to Tazuna's house. We all need some nice rest."

They all nodded, before Anko headed to the nearest tree and promptly collapsed on it.

_**With Akuma**_

Akuma lay on his bed staring at the ceiling. His leg was busy fixing itself and would be done faster than he thought. The Kyuubi said that it will heal by the end of the week.

Two more days.

It was then that Haku walked in and looked at Akuma, who was busily counting ceiling tiles to notice her. Or maybe not…

"Hey Haku…" Akuma greeted, "Where's Zabuza?" The demon boy looked at her.

Haku sighed. "He was killed. I am a worthless tool. Zabuza-sama is dead because of me."

Akuma felt a pang of guilt and said, "Aw… Come on, you're not a worthless tool. Who said you were even a tool anyways?"

Haku continued, "All ninjas are tools to serve their masters. That is what being a ninja is all about."

"**Use this to your advantage kit." **Kyuubi mentally commanded Akuma, **"Once we finish this mission, we will head to Oto."**

Akuma tilted his head and said, "Maybe they are tools for their masters, but just because their master died doesn't mean that that tool has gone blunt. Nor does it mean that it can't be reused."

"What do you mean by that?" Haku asked.

"Well, I was wondering if, when we finish this mission, we head to Oto. I heard before I joined here that Oto is a safe haven for missing-nin. That's where I actually was going before I came here."

Haku seemed to be in thought. There were several pros and cons to this. For pros, there was the fact that they wouldn't be chased by hunter-nin. Then there was the fact that Haku could continue to be a tool for someone. For cons… were there any? Haku wondered.

"I guess I can go with you." Haku said.

Akuma grinned, "Good. Now, let's wait for my leg to heal up."

Inside Akuma's mindscape, the Kyuubi was grinning. Soon, they would have revenge on Konoha. Kyuubi, since they killed their family; Akuma, since they beat him and hated him; and now Haku, for killing her greatest friend. Oh yes, revenge would be sweet this time around…

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_And it's done. Well, people; did you like the chapter. Sorry I was a little late in updating. I ran out of ideas and as I said my internet suicided. So… Um… Yeah. Did you guys like what happened so far? Are you mad at me for killing Zabuza so early? If you are... I'm sorry! I just wanted to advance the storyline._

_Um… I'm pretty sure by now that you all know the main pairing. I hope that you guys enjoyed this, and I hope that this doesn't get me millions upon millions of flames, because I hate flames and I would be sad. But, usually flamers don't care anyways so yeah. Please don't flame me, review positively, and enjoy life._

_Ja ne!_

_-Flat Rock "Woopsire"_


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